GOED 2020 Annual Repor t
COVID-19 Response GOED’s unified, direct, and robust response to the coronavirus pandemic serves as a model for other agencies and states during these challenging times. It continues to be a “Team Utah” effort in every sense, with each of GOED’s programs, teams, and offices contributing to the organization’s successful efforts.
GOED's Post-Fiscal Year COVID-19 Response From July to September, the GOED team continued administering CARES Act grants. When this publication was completed, the team had managed programs and initiatives totaling over $170 million, including $140 million in federal CARES Act grants.
Since COVID-19 arrived in Utah in March, GOED has mobilized its workforce to rebuild the state’s strong economic foundation and stellar reputation. To date, GOED has managed various coronavirus programs and initiatives totaling over $115 million, including $86 million in federal CARES Act grants that delivered aid and relief services to Utahns, Utah businesses, and organizations. GOED’s executive director has managed the state and local resources subcommittee of the state-wide COVID-19 Task Force, organizing and conducting regular meetings with government and business leaders since the pandemic began. Members of the GOED team managed and participated in nearly every task force and committee, including the Economic Response Task Force, the state response communications subcommittee, the state’s initiative that led to the Salt Lake Chamber’s Stay Safe to Stay Open pledge, Unified Command, and more. All GOED team members contributed to the agency’s successful response to the pandemic. Their efforts ranged from fulfilling masks orders to designing and managing a wide range of economic relief programs. From May to July, GOED managed the ‘A Mask for Every Utahn’ program, coordinating the state’s purchase of 2.3 million face masks. Utahns ordered 1.24 million masks on coronavirus.utah.gov, representing almost 280,000 households. The program also provided K-12 schools with 750,000 masks, 300,000 masks were sent to popular tourism destinations to be distributed to visitors to keep locals and visitors safe, and sent 140,000 masks to grocery stores, particularly those in underserved areas of the state and in places where more COVID-19 cases existed. Masks were also directly distributed to targeted nonprofits, veterans groups, homeless shelters, facilities for the elderly, and to immigrant and minority populations and other at-risk communities. The following are highlights of GOED’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
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